Below are some answers to frequently asked questions about Fort Wayne Improv. Simply click the question to expand the answer. If you have a question that we haven’t covered on the site, please don’t hesitate to ask us.
Available parking is highlighted in GREEN below. We have LIMITED parking spots behind the building, but be careful not to park on the south side of the lot. Those are our amazingly patient neighbors’ spots. Anywhere you see a Fort Wayne Improv (or Bigtooth Co.) parking sign is up for grabs, and our amazing neighbors are also allowing us to use the State Farm-labeled parking spots behind the building. If those are taken, there’s plenty of street parking on California and Alabama. We ALSO have amazing neighbors on the north side of E. State Blvd. in Painted Lady and the Allen County Public Library. Please be extremely respectful of our neighbors’ properties. They are kind enough to let us use their space, and we don’t want to damage that relationship. The library, in particularly, has 24-hour book drop boxes that we do NOT want to block. Also, BE CAREFUL crossing the street if you park on the north side of State (or as a general rule)! If you’re a visual learner, just check out the below image (the highlighted green areas are the parking places where you WON’T get towed).
We choose to sell Liquid Death (water in metal cans) instead of bottled water because we believe that any small steps we take to protect the earth are worth taking. While cans are not perfect, most studies show that metal cans are much more recyclable and environmentally-friendly than plastic bottles. They’re also better for your health, make the water taste better, and look a lot cooler.
First of all, there is NO drink/item minimum for our shows. We’re determined to be the best way you can spend a night out in Fort Wayne. We’ve been in a LOT of comedy clubs in our careers, and we have never liked being forced to buy stuff that we don’t necessarily want, and we certainly don’t want to put our servers into an awkward situation. We do have non-alcoholic drinks (including Liquid Death), beer, and canned wine for sale to drink. We have a drinking fountain with a bottle filler, so please feel free to bring in your own water bottles (we would actually love that for sustainability reasons). We have bags of chips for sale to snack on. You are more than welcome to carry in your own food if you’d like something more substantial. We just ask that you clean up after yourself so you’re not placing an extra burden on our servers.
Traditionally, improv theaters rely on their community members to do jobs at the theater, including service jobs. We want to keep those jobs as simple for our employees as possible, and eliminating the need for a cash drawer makes those jobs MUCH easier. Plus, we don’t have to remember to get cash before a show night.
Most of our shows are fully improvised. We try not to exceed a PG-13 rating, but because our shows are spontaneous and because we encourage our performers to perform freely, we cannot guarantee that a scene won’t lead us down a more adult path. As we grow, we will have more kid- and family-friendly options for both shows and classes.
Thank you for making us part of your journey! Everyone comes to improv differently, but an explanation of our flexible class structure HERE.
YES! Even the most seasoned improvisers can always use more reps! We recommend that improvisers with experience start at Level Two, which requires instructor approval.
We’re glad you asked! We love architectural history, and we’re learning more and more that our building has some STORIES! Most-recently, the building was Bigtooth Co. Furniture and Design. As far as we know, before that, it was Colvin Kitchen and Bath (which explains both the outhouse set into the marble of our entryway and the skylight in one of our bathrooms). The building was built in 1925, and the farthest back use that we’ve been able to find is that it was the original location of the Tecumseh branch of the Allen County Public Library. Check out these amazing old pictures courtesy of the ACPL!
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County: branches, Tecumseh. Interior. Date unknown, but–you know–old.
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County: branches, Tecumseh. Interior. 1920s.
Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County: branches, Tecumseh. Interior, showing magazine area. 1920s.